Reference: I John 1:5-7
We hear much today in the religious world,of the belief that the blood of Christ is what cleanes the sinner from sin, butI doubt if the average confessing believer has the slightest idea of what ittruly means to be cleansed from sin by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thecommon belief among the religious believers, is that the blood of Christcleanses them from sin, if they accept Him as Saviour, and that He shed Hisblood on the cross for them. It is commonly believed among the religiousdenominational churches, that just to believe that Christ died, and He shed Hisblood on the cross for their sins, that this saves them, and cleanses them fromtheir sin. Just to believe that Christ died on the cross, and shed His blood,is not how the blood washes us from sin. The Bible tells us that if we shallconfess with the mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe that God raised Him from thedead, then we shall be saved. This does not mean that all we have to do is toconfess belief on Him, and that this is what saves us, and cleanses us fromsin. We are told that we shall be saved, but it does not say that we are savedupon the confession of Christ, at the very moment we confess Him. The very nextverse says that: "With theheart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is madeunto salvation." To believe untorighteousness, means that we receive the righteousness of God in a progressivemanner, through the revealed truth of the gospel, because in the gospel isrevealed the righteousness of God from faith to faith.
We are saved bybelieving the revealed truth from the heart, and walking in it. The confessionof believing on Christ, and that God raised Him from the dead, is the conditionthat we must meet, and believe before we can proceed on in the revealed truththat will save us. God will save those that confess Christ, and that believethat He raised Him from the dead, but the way that God does the saving, is byrevealing to us the truth revealed in the gospel. Walking in the light, meansto walk in the light of truth, and obeying it. If we do walk in the light, thenthe blood of Christ will cleanse us from sin. Christ's literal blood does notwash us like water, but His blood was shed for the New Testament, which is thepower of God unto salvation, to those that believe it, and walk in the light ofit. Christ's shed blood put into effect, and power the gospel which willcleanse us from sin, if we walk in the truth of it. Walking in the light, meansto walk in, and obey the truth of the word of God, as revealed in the gospel ofChrist. To say that you have fellowship with God, means that you know Him, andthat you love Him. If you do not walk in the light of the truth of the gospel,then you are a liar, and the truth is not in you. How can truth be in you, ifyou fail to walk in it? To have truth in you, can only be accomplished byreceiving and walking in the light of it. Just to confess that you believe onChrist is not walking in the truth. Walking in truth, is obeying and receivingtruth after you confess on Christ. To confess belief on Christ, and failing towalk in the light of truth, will get you nowhere with God. The confession onChrist, is only the beginning of the walk with God. To walk, and havefellowship with God, you must first confess Christ, and believe that God raisedHim from the dead. This puts you in the position that you can proceed on, intoa deeper walk with God, which is obeying the truth as it is revealed to you bythe Spirit. After you confess Christ you must begin to obey the word asrevealed in the gospel. The next step is to repent, and be baptized in Hisname, as stated in Acts 2:38. Then you must have a desire for the word, that will causeyou to grow thereby. After you confess Christ, you must obey the command ofrepentance and water baptism in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission ofsin, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Ghost, that will lead you intothe remaining truth that the gospel reveals. If you will continue on in God'sword, after you have confessed Christ, and repented and was baptized in Hisname, you will receive the knowledge of the truth that will set you free, asstated in John 3:30-32. The receiving of truth, taught to you by the Holy Spirit,will redeem you, and make you a perfect man or woman, filled with the measureand stature of the fulness of Christ. The shedding of blood on the cross, paidthe cost to redeem you back to the state of perfection that man was in beforehe fell prone to sin's power in the garden of Eden. Christ's shed blood broughtinto power the gospel, to do whatever it states. The gospel of Christ, is thecovenant of God, to redeem man back to Himself, in his once perfect state, ashe was in before he fell in sin, through the deception of the serpent. Are youwashed in His blood?